Suffice to say, A Hat in Time won’t waste your time. It has put you in the paint program for the same reason it does everything else: because whereas most games are content to occupy your time, A Hat in Time has something it wants to show you. Now get busy with the virtual crayons. It’ll be worth it.
From my first 5 minutes of playing this game, I knew this was going to be one of my top 10 favorite games of all time. Between the fun story, the whacky and hilarious characters, the smooth and nostalgic gameplay, as well as the beautiful looking worlds made this game an absolute blast to play. When I finally completed the story of the game, I was honestly sad that it was over. But seriously, Hat Girl is such an adorable character with an amazing personality that she portrays wiithout saying a single word. Hands down one of my favorite characters.
Prospective rating: 9-10
Prelimary thoughts after the first chapter:
Wow, this game might be one of my all-time favorites, even threatening mario odyssey at the top.
This games movement is unparalleled. Just moving around the different worlds is so fun. And the worlds themselves are also just so much fun to explore. It is always possible to go for an easy way to a destination or to try some more creative, challenging movements.
The first chapter (mafia town) reminded me a bit of New Donk City in Mario Odyssey. One thing that this has over Mario Odyssey is that the movement is even more fun somehow. Also, it seems like you can (and maybe need) to use this movement much more when moving around the different worlds.
Of course, this game has its flaws. First, it would be great if one would not always have to exit the world for the next act of the chapter. Second, there is no real way to keep track of all collectibles one already has gotten. Third, the game may lack a minor collectible. I think making coins a minor collectible (similar to purple coins in Mario Odyssey) would make exploration even more fun and rewarding.
But nevertheless, moving around and exploring these worlds is one of my favorite gaming experiences of all time.
A Hat in Time proudly doesn’t shy from showing its inspirations from the 3D platform classics while radiating its own unique personality thanks to charmingly designed worlds (although we could do with a bit more of them!). It is unfortunate then that precise jumping is never as… precise as it should be. Even though it may not hinder the enjoyment by much it is nevertheless a shortcoming in an otherwise especially enjoyable experience.
A Hat in Time has certainly been well worth the wait, and is easily recommended to platformer fans across all formats. It sits nicely alongside Yooka-Laylee and offers a different take on the N64 nostalgia that both titles share. It’s unlikely to knock Mario off his perch as king of the 3D platformers, but it is a more than acceptable pretender to the crown. It also has a central antagonist called Moustache Girl who is a girl with a bushy moustache. A Hat in Time opens up to be a real standout in the recent renaissance of the 3D platform game.
A Hat in Time was presented to me by the developers as a "GameCube love-letter, cute-as-heck 3D platformer". Well, it is indeed a very nice 3D platform with a nice level design and some good platforming phases inspired by Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine, mostly. I enjoyed playing it very much.
The origins as a hobby project are too visible from the get-go. Clumsy controls and problematic camera are not up to par - but unfortunately these are the cornerstone of any decent platformer.
Honestly my favourite game of all time, the controls are so incredibly smooth, the character having so much charm and generally just amazing levels. The soundtrack is great and i love the artstyle. The DLCs also give players the option of more gameplay and higher difficulty which is always welcome. The polish is great and it's such a shame that there aren't more 3d collectathon platformers on the PC like this one.
The camera is terrible, the hitbox detection is off, the level design downright bad, some obstacles are straight up stolen from Super Mario Sunshine, very content-poor and the game is way too buggy.
Better luck next time, Jonas Kaerlev.
Short, poor voice acting, shakey controls, glitches galore, poor hitbox detection, average-at-best story.
It's generally unpolished and feels like a project that could have used more time in the oven.
SummaryA Hat in Time is a 3D collect-a-thon platformer featuring a little girl with a lot of heart. Travel the universe with Hat Kid as you rival the evil Mustache Girl in order to save the world. Unlock new platforming abilities, more combat moves and spice up your attacks with badges attached to your hat.